China confirms work on second aircraft carrier

BEIJING — China confirmed Thursday it is building a second aircraft carrier, a move that will probably raise further concerns in the West and among its neighbors over Beijing’s assertive moves in the South China Sea.

The carrier will be designed in China and built in the port of Dalian, said Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry. It will have a displacement of 50,000 tons — significantly less than the largest U.S. carriers — and will carry China’s J-15 fighters. The carrier will have a ski-jump-style takeoff.

“China has a long coast line and a vast maritime area under our jurisdiction. To safeguard our maritime sovereignty, interests and rights is the sacred mission of the Chinese armed forces,” Yang told reporters.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a vast and strategically important sweep of islands and shipping lanes. These claims are a major source of tension with the United States, as well as with many Asian neighbors including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. China and Japan also have sparred over the East China Sea.

Yang did not release more details nor did he say when the carrier would be completed. Information about the program is closely guarded.

China already has one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. It was purchased from Ukraine in 1998 and retrofitted domestically.

Plans to build a second carrier do not come as a surprise. Rumors have been swirling for more than a year, but have been quickly scrubbed by China’s censors.

In February, an overzealous city government leaked news that it had been selected to supply electronic components for a new carrier, only to see the good news deleted.

Photos released by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly in October showed what some thought was an aircraft carrier under construction in Dalian, the port where the Liaoning was refitted.

The Pentagon’s 2015 report on military and security issues in China predicted the country could “build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years.”

Building a second carrier is part of Beijing’s plan to increase its naval presence as it modernizes its military. The country’s officially disclosed military budget – still small compared with that of the United States – has grown by double digits for nearly two decades, up 10 percent this year to $141 billion.

The Pentagon has long held that China is within its rights to improve its military, but there are points of friction.

The U.S. military has conducted a number of freedom-of-navigation operations, as they are known, in international waters in recent months, in an effort to make sure shipping lanes remain open to traffic in areas such as the South China Sea.

Adm. John Richardson, the chief of the Navy, said recently that Russia and China are world powers, and the United States must make sure it stays ahead of both with military technology. He called China more of a “quantitative threat,” a nod to its military’s growing capacity.

“We’re better than them, but the pace, we need to recapture the momentum, if you will,” the admiral said, speaking to a handful of reporters in his office in December.

On the Chinese, he added: “I think that, to date, they seem to be catching up pretty quickly. And so their ability to adapt new technology and invest in those sorts of things has been something that has really got a lot of people’s attention.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.